Fireworks, beer and roadwork were among the highlights at the Lake Zurich Village Board’s virtual meeting earlier this month.
Trustees approved a motion extending until July 4, 2021 a fireworks contract with Yarmouth, Iowa-based J & M Displays for the village’s Independence Day fireworks, since Lake Zurich officials have made the decision to cancel this year’s display.
The approval came during the June 1 meeting.
In 2018, the village entered into a three-year contract with the company which was to expire after this Fourth of July. Each year, the village pays $30,000 for the fireworks show, according to village data, which is shot off of barges in Lake Zurich. The money comes from the hotel tax fund generated by the Lake Zurich Holiday Inn Express, said Kyle Kordell, assistant to the village manager.
Village officials said the company understood the unique circumstances of this year, in light of the novel coronavirus pandemic, and offered to extend the contract until next year without penalty.
Bonnie Caputo, the Lake Zurich parks and recreation director, said due to COVID-19 – the disease caused by the coronavirus – 2020 is “shaping up to produce the most disappointing recreational season.”
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Trustees noted other nearby communities, including Hawthorn Woods and Waconda, have also canceled their fireworks displays.
“I’m super sad, but I understand,” said Lake Zurich Trustee Janice Gannon.
Mayor Thomas Poynton said he is especially disappointed.
“I’m a fireworks guy,” he said.
Trustees also approved an amended liquor license for The Phase Three Brewing Company, at 932 Donata Court.
This is the third brewing business to own that site, which first opened in 2015 as Black Belt Brewery, later owned by Lake Zurich Brewery. The Phase Three Brewing Company had been operating at the site under Lake Zurich Brewery’s license since April 2019, officials said.
“(Lake Zurich brewery) produced beer for retail market and a restaurant/tavern that they owned,” said J. Michael Duebner, the village’s innovation director. “They realized that they had extra capacity which allowed Phase Three Brewing to use their facilities. The popularity of Phase Three’s beer continued to grow which led to the sale of the brewery to Phase Three.”
Duebner said the business of craft beers is “competitive.”
“You need to have an excellent product to get your beer on the shelves of retailers,” he said. “However, craft beer drinkers are familiar with waiting in line for the latest release of a specialty beer, ordering their product online for pickup at a future date also isn’t unfamiliar. While COVID-19 has shuttered tap rooms, craft breweries are agile and have pivoted to strengthen their online offerings and offering curb side pickups.”
Trustees’ approval at the meeting completes the brewery’s transition to operating under the new owners’ name.
The Phase Three Brewing Company is owned Shaun Berns and his wife, Brittany, and Evan Morris. They met while working as servers at Ram Restaurant and Brewery in Schaumburg. In time, Shaun Berns became a regional brewer for Ram in the Midwest at the Wheeling location and Morris became a general manger at Ram in Wheeling, according to the business partners.
They then went on to work at More Brewery in Villa Park – the trio’s “phase two,” Morris said. Brittany Berns also pursued a degree in graphics journalism and now does all the marketing for the company.
The brewery name is a nod to this being their third venture together, the owners said.
Currently, due to the pandemic, the tasting room at the brewery is closed, but pick-up service is available.
Morris said there are plans to partner with Kooker’s, a nearby restaurant that customers will be able to order food from while at the brewery.
Morris said they hope to open the brewery by late summer.
“It’s been challenging,” Morris said referring to the COVID-19 restrictions. “We have been delayed for sure. This was something we really wanted to accomplish late-April, early-May, now we are looking to (open) mid- to late-summer.”
However, Morris said the production side of the business, which produces an array of brews for restaurants, liquor stores and craft beer outlets around the Chicago area, has remained steady.
In other business at the Village Board meeting, trustees also approved a roughly $1.6 million bid with Peter Baker & Sons Company in Lake Bluff for the 2020 road surfacing program. The village’s 2020 budget includes $1.85 million in the non-home rule sales tax fund for the resurfacing work.
This is the second time the village accepted a bid for the roadwork, officials said. A bid about $32,000 higher was first accepted in March. Due to COVID-19-related financial hardships, staff modified the scope of the work and sought new bids in May, village officials said.
The “lowest responsible” bid was one of six opened in May, village officials said.
The work, to be done from about mid-June through August, includes the Knollwood, Chasewood North and Whispering Creek subdivisions. Work is also scheduled to be done at Buesching Road from Route 22 to Rose Road and on Meadow Lane, according to village documents.
In other business, Poynton said village parks are open but playgrounds remain closed due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Also, the farmers market will be open each Friday at 3 p.m. through Sept. 11 at Paulus Park, 200 S. Rand Road.
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Amanda Marrazzo is a freelancer.